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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2006)
3,100 Wal-Mart employees get Washington health aid L EGAL P ROBLEMS ?? For $16 a month coverage includes: THESE LEGAL SERVICES ARE PROVIDED BY THE VERY BEST LAW FIRMS IN OREGON & WASHINGTON. * Some services not 100% covered For more information, call 503-760-2456 or toll-free at (888) 252-7930 www.prepaidlegal.com/info/randallnix (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 Fax Number: (503) 288-3320 Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150-0150, PORTLAND, OR 97213 Member Press Associates Inc. WESTERN LABOR PRESS ASSOCIATION FEBRUARY 3, 2006 Protecting Union Members’ Smiles and Wallets Quality, Affordable Family Dental Care: Ask About: • General, cosmetic, and specialty care • Orthodontics (braces) • Most insurance and union plans accepted • Easy credit and low monthly payments, O.A.C. • Evening and Saturday appointments • Children Welcome Bright Now! Dental Grants Pass 1021 NE 6th St. Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-479-6696 An Bongmin, D.D.S. John Christopher, D.D.S. Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Bright Now! Dental 443 NW Burnside Road Gresham, OR 97030 503-492-8487 Vicki Reichlein, D.M.D. Chung-Jay Park, D.D.S. Chau Ngo, D.D.S., M.S. Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Bright Now! Dental 25700 SW Argyle Ave. Wilsonville, OR 97070 503-682-8552 Grace Park, D.M.D. Linh Tran, D.M.D. Christi Huynh, D.M.D. Nathan Halstead, D.D.S., M.S. Marco Gutierrez, D.D.S Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Bright Now! Dental 4052 S. 6th St. Klamath Falls, OR 97603 541-883-7706 Mo Biria, D.M.D. Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Bright Now! Dental 17186 SE McLoughlin Blvd. Milwaukie, OR 97267 503-659-2525 Trang Nguyen, D.M.D. Linh Tran, D.M.D. Katherine Farrell, D.M.D. Adam Ho, P.C. Bright Now! Dental 3580 SE 82nd Ave. Portland, OR 97266 503-777-0761 Allen Tam, D.M.D. Nathan Halstead, D.D.S., M.S. Khoa Hoang, D.M.D. Adam Ho, D.D.S., P.C. www.brightnow.com Bright Now! Dental Network Dentists – serving unions for over 25 years Bright Now! Dental 831 Lancaster Mall Dr. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-362-8359 Ian Phan, D.M.D. Anthony Simon, D.M.D. Brian Kallus, D.M.D. Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Bright Now! Dental Salmon Creek 2101 NE 129th St. Vancouver, WA 98686 360-574-4574 Clinton Harrell, D.M.D. Peter Vu, D.M.D. Chau Ngo, D.D.S., M.S. Phong Bui, D.M.D. Stirewalt, P.C. Bright Now! Dental Fishers Landing 3250 SE 164th Ave. Vancouver, WA 98683 360-891-1999 Monica Calderon, D.M.D. Peter Vu, D.M.D. Stirewalt, P.C. We know the value of a beautiful smile! Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Family, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers Drive a new or used vehicle home today! Rates as low as 5.74% New, Used & Refinances Apply in person, over the phone, online or directly through one of the participating CUDL Dealerships. PO Box 16877 9955 SE Washington St Portland, Oregon 97292 www.ibewuwfcu.com Call Today (503) 253-8193 ext. 340 (800) 356-6507 ext. 340 Or visit us online at www.ibewuwfcu.com Electricians, Carpenters, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofer, Asbestos Workers, Family, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers ❖ Unlimited toll-free phone consultation with attorneys. ❖ A comprehensive will with yearly updates is included. ❖ Representation for traffic tickets, accidents, criminal, and civil suits. ❖ Coverage on IRS tax audits. ❖ Divorce, child custody, bank- ruptcy and many more benefits.* tions in the world.” The Washington Legislature has in- troduced a labor-backed bill that would require companies with 5,000 or more employees to put a minimum of 9 per- cent of their payroll costs toward health care benefits. Citing state and federal confidential- ity rules, the state last month provided two reports to only a handful of legisla- tors and legislative staff members. Copies of those reports were leaked to The Seattle Times. One of the reports shows that throughout 2004 an average 3,180 Wal- Mart employees were receiving state- funded medical assistance, including Medicaid, for themselves or for a de- pendent. The other report shows that 456 Wal-Mart employees were on the state’s Basic Health Plan that year. Nearly 1,800 employees in those pro- grams worked full-time. The Basic Health Plan (BHP) is funded entirely by the state and covers low-income adults — primarily fami- lies with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. That would mean a family of four with an income of about $38,000 would be eligible. The state reports showed McDon- ald’s restaurants second with an average 1,824 employees receiving Medicaid benefits in 2004 and Safeway third with 1,539 employees on Medicaid . Nearly all of those were part-time employees. Electricians, Carpenters, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofer, Asbestos Workers, Family, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers OLYMPIA — More than 3,100 Wal-Mart employees in Washington — nearly half of them full-time workers — benefited from state-subsidized health coverage in 2004, reported the Seattle Times newspaper. That total is much higher than previ- ously thought. And it indicates that 22 percent of Wal-Mart’s 16,000 employ- ees in the state were getting taxpayer- funded health care. The Center for a Changing Work- force, a nonprofit public policy organi- zation, estimates that state taxpayers paid an estimated $9.25 million for Wal-Mart health care subsidies in 2004. The group estimates the cost in the 2005-2006 biennium to be $21.7 mil- lion. The center also estimates that for each additional store Wal-Mart opens in Washington State, it costs taxpayers an additional $136,000 per year in Medic- aid subsidies alone. “I think taxpayers should be out- raged,” Rep. Steve Conway, D-Tacoma, told the Seattle Times. “They are subsi- dizing one of the wealthiest corpora- See us online at www.nwlaborpress.org Glaziers, Carpenters, Laborers, Electricians, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Family, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 3
